Sunday, August 7, 2011

2011-2012 Insight Part 3 - Forwards

The Avs forwards looked bright going into the 2010-2011 season. Coming off a crazy year, where as the youngest team in the NHL the Avs made the playoffs, this past season had highs and lows for the forwards but a consistent low as a whole group. Minus 2nd year standout Matt Duchene, many of the Avs stars failed to be consistent as well as injuries played a huge toll. Missed games include:
Peter Mueller - Full Season
Tomas Fleishmann - 27 games missed
T.J Galiardi - 47 games missed
Chris Stewart - 20 games missed (pre trade)
Milan Hejduk - 11 games missed
Ryan O'Reilly - 8 games missed
Paul Stastny - 8 games missed

While injuries are not a good enough excuse in today's NHL, 2nd year coach Joe Sacco relentlessly tried to stress to the media that there is nothing to do but keep playing with the players you have. However, until the Allstar break the Avs were fighting for a playoff stretch, and things have gone very different had players stayed healthy. Nonetheless, key forwards Stewart and Fleishmann are gone and it will up to some draft picks and younger players to step-up into the forward core. The Avs 2011-2012 Lines (my opinion) look as follows:
Peter Mueller Matt Duchene Milan Hejduk
Gabriel Landeskog Paul Stastny David Jones
T.J Galiardi Ryan O'Reilly Brandon Yip
Cody Mcleod Jay McClement Chuck Kobasew
subs: Joey Hishon, Daniel Winnick, Kevin Porter

In order for the Avs to bounce back next season, look for a big year out of 3rd year Center (and my guess of future captain) Matt Duchene. Peter Mueller will be expected to provide a scoring touch the Avs lacked last season, assuming he is healthy. Look for youngsters Gabriel Landeskog (100%) and Joey Hishon (50%) to make pushes for roster spots come opening night, and don't be surprised in Landeskog plays big minutes quick. Only new addition besides Landeskog is RW Chuck Kobasew, who will provide a checking role for the Avs penalty kill and 3rd/4th line. To conclude, I think that if the Avs sign/trade for a few more forwards their team could be seriously improved from last season. Look for a more consistent group next season. That wraps up my 3-part season insight, thanks for reading!
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News

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